LISTEN: Charley Stone – ‘Better With You’

The PR for the latest Charley Stone single describes her as a ‘scene queen’. Hype, you may well initially think, but Charley’s been more than prolific for a long while. Having played with the likes of Salad, Charley currently plays guitar on tour with both Sleeper and Desperate Journalist. Her tribute band work is almost a Wikipedia page in itself: The Fallen Women (an all-female Fall karaoke band), ABBA Stripes (ABBA played by a White siblings-esque duo), Hive Fives (part of The Hives franchising of their own band) and The Dumb Blondes (a Dolly Parton tribute), to name just a few. Now, after so long playing others’ parts, Charley Stone is prepping to release her debut solo album, with musical support from her group, The Actual Band.

Before the album is released next month, Charley brings us its second single – ‘Better With You‘, the follow-up to last month’s ‘A Scream’.  But where the latter was spacey and darkly psychedelic, ‘Better With You’ finds us very much at the kitchen-sink, with Charley’s lyrics outlining the image of a couple making the misstep of travelling to a wedding. Musically, it’s more raw too; the association with The White Stripes is apparent here, with the guitars stripped back and fuzzy and drums way up in the mix, and there’s a resemblance to The Lovely Eggs in there – no great surprise given Holly Ross’ own Britpop to neo-garage trajectory. In addition, with the lyrical evocation of chaotic people combined with lo-fi guitar, there’s also an echo of Wild Billy Childish’s work from the noughties, albeit with vocals that sound somewhat akin to Lush’s Miki Berenyi. That’s not to say that this has been simply slung together, even if – as Charley herself describes it – the track was virtually recorded as live, “guitar solo and all”.

Lyrically, the track heads in one direction, indicating that the pair it depicts are simply “better with” each other, before its spoken-word middle eight undoes all of our understanding. And that’s sort of the rub; Charley Stone clearly has lyrical and musical chops, and ideas for what she wants to do, it’s just (as she said in a recent interview), “all my experiences with bands…were synthesising into something inside me that I now need to do”. And it’s to our benefit that she has: as all her various bands already know, everything’s better with Charley.

Here Comes The Actual Band, the debut album from Charley Stone, is out on 29th May.

John McGovern
@etinsuburbiaego

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LISTEN: BCOS RSNS – ‘Turn It Off’

The second single from their upcoming debut album, ‘Turn It Off‘ by BCOS RSNS turns the post-punk band’s attention to conspiracy theories and capitalism. The song uses scuzzy guitars and dry, deadpan wit to draw a profound parallel between the ridiculous and the real, highlighting how easy it is to begin investigating genuinely dangerous societal concerns and end up diverted into truly absurd territory by conspiracists profiting off your concern.

The early verses start off with obviously silly theories that no one really believes – that Neil Armstrong was an actor, but that the moon landing was shot on location. Then the song escalates down that all-too-slippery slope to ideas you hear parroted by otherwise sensible, intelligent people. It’s a pattern you’ll be familiar with if you paid attention to the number of smart people echoing life-threatening anti-vax logic during the height of the Covid pandemic, for example.

The chorus hammers home the crucial point at the core of the track perfectly. It starts with fairly good advice, beginning “turn off your tv”, up to “turn off your smart home” (do you really trust what privately owned energy companies are doing with your data? They’re raising prices and announcing record profits, so it really doesn’t feel all that much like they’re passing on the benefit of that information to the consumer…), and finally pivots to “turn off your kettle” and “pull down your blinds”, which (unless you have a smart kettle and blinds that channel data back to the 1%, which thankfully is yet part of a dystopian future I personally am very relieved to have not yet seen first-hand) is a foray into paranoia. But the steps that take you there aren’t that illogical. In a few relatively short (and honestly very catchy lines), the song demonstrates how easily someone could be persuaded to veer off course from sensible precautions to wild speculation.

‘Turn It Off’ culminates in the direct, straight-faced third verse, where the character is dropped and the mission statement presented clearly and unambiguously. In a song about the way mis-information snowballs into tangible harm, the directness here becomes all the more profound. The verse describes the song itself as a “distraction”, and they’re not wrong. Satisfying the frustration of life on a dying planet with the temporary catharsis of a fun song doesn’t make any difference to the situation. The track doesn’t hide how difficult it is to even envision how to turn back the death clock at this late stage of the game. The singer herself, Abi Brady, even says of the song’s thesis,  “I don’t have any answers to any of it. It’s frustrating.“

But art doesn’t need to have all the answers, and with this release BCOS RSNS process the trauma of existing as a single powerless individual under the tyranny of late stage capitalism through an upbeat and playfully intelligent song, and invite you to purge your shared frustrations with them.

The eponymous debut album from BCOS RSNS is set for release on 22nd May – pre-order here. Catch the band live celebrating its release at The Cavendish Arms on 25th May.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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ALBUM: pink suits – ‘Dystopian Hellscape’

Whatever the follow-up to 2021’s Political Child would end up being, it had exponentially growing shoes to fill. pink suits‘ debut album cemented the Margate duo as a politically-charged riot, and whatever came next had an increasingly turbulent global environment to engage with. Thankfully, Dystopian Hellscape is an astute and comprehensive reaction to existing in the mess that is Tory Britain in 2024.

The album, which consists of a whopping 16 tracks, kicks off with their playful warm-up song, ‘C.O.F.F.E.E.‘ It’s a high energy, fun start to the journey you’re about to embark on through the whiplash of experiences the new album covers. 

Then they launch right into the title track, ‘Dystopian Hellscape’, which doesn’t pull a single punch when it comes to calling out the choices a handful of powerful people have made that are making life difficult for everyone else. The track uses news stories that are depressingly familiar to anyone paying attention right now to create a tapestry of struggle that builds up in a horrifying picture of contemporary life. The screaming guitars, drums and vocals generate a great cathartic release in response to hypocrisy and selfishness on the part of not only politicians, but the fractured society that allows them to thrive. The transphobes and anti-vaxxers and climate deniers who cling to the hate that has made up their identity.

Over the course of the album, the duo examines politics (‘A Comprehensive Breakdown of How Trickle-Down Economics Works’), cultural bankruptcy (‘I Don’t Have Crypto’), internal anxiety (‘Things I Told My Therapist’, ‘Kimberly May’), queerphobic micro-aggressions (‘Are You Get Yet?‘), societal hypocrisy (‘Tofu Wokerati’) and the general sense of overwhelming overload of having to exist in a world with all of those things bombarding you near constantly all at the same time (‘Don’t Talk to Me’). With each topic they engage with, pink suits know exactly how to drive home a point that leaves you unable to ignore the message they’re putting across. They have a mastery of lines that jump out and punch you in the gut, encompassing enormous and complex issues in concise summaries that get right to the point and linger with you.

But, amongst all the things that make this planet dystopian and hellish, pink suits pause for more playful tracks that remind you that it’s worth sticking around for the moments of community and queer joy you can get. There is righteous anger rich with rebellious hope (‘Refuse the Rules‘) and reminders that taking care of yourself is not only vital (‘Be Good to Yourself’), but an act of rebellion in itself (‘Self Care is Punk’), along with celebrations of the pockets of space that do exist where community can flourish and life can be fun (‘Margate Arts Club’).

This is an album that leads you by the hand to places where you can’t help but look at some of the most horrible aspects of society and see the monstrous side of humanity. But they make sure you get to stop for a breather exactly when you need it, to focus on some self-care and take a look around at all the other people rallying alongside you. Dystopian Hellscape cements the band as insightful and intelligent, as well as fun and talented performers. The riffs are fuzzy, the drums are infectious, the melodies are catchy and it’s impossible not to get swept up into the rock and rage attitude that is pink suits’ signature vibe.

Dystopian Hellscape, the second album from pink suits, is out now, listen and buy via Bandcamp. The band are currently tour and their live show is something else, so make sure you don’t miss out – tickets and info here.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt

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ALBUM: Gen and the Degenerates – ‘Anti-Fun Propaganda’

“I don’t want to shy away from the darkness of being a human. But… I don’t want to be fully consumed by it and forget to have fun, be silly…”

Following their raucous 2022 extended play, Only Alive When In Motion, Liverpudlian alt-punk quintet Gen and the Degenerates – featuring singer Genevieve Glynn-Reeves, guitarists Sean Healand Sloan and Jacob Jones, bassist Jay Humphreys, and drummer Evan Reeves – have released their highly anticipated debut record, Anti-Fun Propaganda, via Marshall Records. Recorded and produced by Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, Amyl and the Sniffers, Drenge, Gang of Four), the album is a coming-of-age story set at the dawn of the end of the world, comprised of political pop proclamations, queer rock ruminations, and frenetic “fuck the fuck off” attitude.

Opening with the statement: “the truth is, the world is ending,” Gen’s tongue-in-cheek but no less bleak observation sets the mood over pulsating synth and an infectious bassline with ‘Kids Wanna Dance’. Our future is becoming increasingly unpredictable – with volatile politics, economic disruption, and environmental degradation – so why should Gen-Y/Z care? Let the kids dance in their inherited dystopia… We’re desensitized! “The truth is I’m no nihilist / There’s a part of me hoping that we can fix all of this but it’s not looking optimistic is it?”

Featuring Glaswegian punk quartet Uninvited, the feisty ‘Girls!’ takes inspiration from a TikTok trend (Don’t you hate it when girls… no, actually I love it when girls, etc) and transforms societal straight male misogyny into anthemic queer love catharsis. “I love it when they make their own damn money / I’ll be your little bit of sugar, let me call you mummy.” “Uninvited got involved after I tweeted ‘I love it when girls…’ and they replied, ‘Same,’ Gen explains. “I sent them the demo, and they loved it, so I asked them to be on it. It is a product of internet culture,”

Speaking of internet culture, Gen’s sardonic wit on ‘That’s Enough Internet For Today’ is for the always-online dickheads doom-scrolling social media, and sharing hyperbole for likes. “Oh my god, congratulations, you’ve won liberal of the day / You’ve come up with the world’s most progressive take / …and don’t you laugh! / I’m not even started with you / It’s not a fucking party trick to have right-wing views!” For the title track, the Degenerates are no less cynical, ridiculing corporations for making life so fucking boring, rejecting their ‘Anti-Fun Propaganda’ with scuzzy guitar riffs, syncopated basslines, and rumbling beats, inspired by the off-kilter punk energy of Braniac and Parquet Courts.

Following the fuzzed-out grunge of ‘All Figured Out’, Gen takes a moment to breathe, strumming lo-fi acoustic melodies for interlude ‘Plan B’, before the Degenerates return to their genre-bending, escapism-fuelled feedback for satirical, lyrical ‘Famous’ (“First kiss in public they’ll say it was staged / Too perfect not to be a PR move”) and ‘BIG HIT SINGLE’ – a rebellious response to Marshall Records. After Only Alive When In Motion’s ‘Girl God Gun’ became a hit single, the record label requested another tune of similar ilk. Not afraid to demonstrate their pop-sensibility, the Degenerates did just that, with spoken word sass! “If a tree falls in the forest / And no one plays it on the radio / Does it make a sound?” jests Gen. “It’s me winding up our label. Luckily, they have a good sense of humour over at Marshall.”

Taking inspiration from the obtuse, artsy sounds of post-punk-as-fuck NYC, ‘Post-Cool’ is an infectious combination of LCD Soundsystem-esque synth and Sonic Youth distortion. “Started a cult by accident / It was pretty far out / Until a crowd of 18,000 turned up to my house.” Cool is dead! Closing with a emotional tribute to Gen’s late aunt, ‘Jude’s Song’ reflects on mortality, ending with the comforting final lyric: “I don’t really know what happens when we die / But I’m glad that for a while we were alive at the same time.” For Gen and the Degenerates, Anti-Fun Propaganda is their way of making sense of the world; a darkly humorous, yet poignant commentary on the frustrating future of a space rock in disarray.

Follow Gen and the Degenerates on Spotify, X, Facebook, Instagram & TikTok

Photo Credit: Liam Maxwell7

Ken Wynne
@Ken_Wynne

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